Ann Marie Stecklein

The life of Ann Marie (Reese) Stecklein ended December 27, 2015 due to a severe stroke. She was born in Glendale, CA on June 11, 1931 to Melvin Chambers Reese and Ellen Catherine (Mendell) Reese. She was a resident of Whittier, California since 1950.



Ann's early childhood education began in Hollywood, & East Los Angeles. Her teenage education was in El Monte, California, capped with her graduation from El Monte High School in 1949. She attended Whittier College, graduating in 1953, and continued graduate study there for her General Elementary Teaching Certificate.



Ann taught in the East Whittier City School District from 1954 to 1990. The last 30 years were spent teaching kindergarten children. One of Ann's biggest joys was to teach kindergarten children who were children of her former students.



Many of Ann's pre-teen years were spent with her grandparents, Charles and Vera Mendell; a great influence on her early years growing up. Ann's father was in the restaurant business and later an electrician and her mother was a commercial proofreader.



Ann was very outgoing and loved people. She loved to travel and meet new people and had a smile for everyone. She was a great cook and also enjoyed canning fruit, making jams and jellies. She enjoyed swimming, snow skiing, ice skating and especially liked bicycling. In 1949 she met a Whittier College football player named Jim Stecklein, on a blind date, and they soon fell in love. They were married in June of 1952 and were a loving couple for 63 years.



Ann is survived by her loving husband Jim, daughter Janine Bol (husband Correy) of Medford, OR; son John, of Walla Walla ,WA; sister Omah 'Petey' Straub ( husband Bernie) of Casper, WY; brothers David Reese (wife Betty) of Long Beach, CA and Donn Reese (wife Terry) of Fallbrook, CA; 3 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.



Predeceasing Ann were her grandparents; father Melvin Reese; stepmother Vergie (McConnell) Reese; mother Ellen (Reese) Graham; stepfather Paul Graham; and sister Margaret Gael Graham.



A memorial service will be held at 1:30pm on Saturday, February 6th, at White Emerson Mortuary in Whittier, CA (corner of Friends Ave. & Philadelphia St.). Following the service, a reception will take place nearby in the Whittier College Lancer Memorial Chapel.



Cards, letters or flowers may be sent to the White Emerson Mortuary, 13304 Philadelphia St., Whittier, CA 90601. Donations in lieu of flowers are asked to be sent to: Whittier College, The Whittier YMCA, or the Whittier Historical Museum.